Specialty Referral Practice

What is a board certified specialist?

Just as your family physician may refer you to a specialist for your own care, your primary veterinarian relies on Santa Cruz Veterinary Hospital when specialized care is needed for your pet. Our specialists will work closely with you and your veterinarian to ensure that your pet receives the best of care.

After finishing undergraduate training and four years of veterinary school, Board-certified Veterinary Specialists must complete an internship and residency in their specialized field (3-5 more years of training). In addition to this extensive training, a Board-certified Veterinary Specialist must pass rigorous examinations to achieve Board certification. Specialists bring a greater understanding and expertise in the area of their specialty and have a greater knowledge of the unusual, the uncommon, or the rare in animals.  In addition, the board certified specialists at Santa Cruz Veterinary Hospital have access to state of the art medical equipment and techniques such as computed tomography, radiation therapy, arthroscopy and ultrasound to name a few.  These modalities allow our specialists to offer your pet treatment options that, until recently were only available at University teaching hospitals.

Board certification is available in such areas as: Internal Medicine, Surgery, Emergency and Critical Care, Ophthalmology, Neurology, Cardiology, Dermatology, Oncology, and Anesthesia. For more information on the American College of Surgery, please visit www.acvs.org. For the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, visit www.acvim.org. For ophthalmology, visit www.acvo.org.

How do I see a specialist?

Please call our referral coordinator or patient services coordinator to schedule an initial consultation with the specialist, you, and your pet. This initial visit typically lasts one hour, during which time the specialist will examine your pet and review your pet's history, including any x-rays or other diagnostic tests your veterinarian has completed. Treatment options and cost will be thoroughly discussed with you and a plan for your pet's care will be established. If your pet requires special care, or is too ill to be treated at home, we can provide hospitalization in our Intensive Care Unit, where they will have 24 hour doctor supervision. We feel it's important to work with your family veterinarian to ensure that follow up care is provided. The specialist will recommend rechecks with them or with your family veterinarian based on your pets health. Your family veterinarian will continue your pet's primary care after the resolution of the problem for which you were referred.